


Pulse

by justanotherbusyfangirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Antichrist, Gen, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 09:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20469062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanotherbusyfangirl/pseuds/justanotherbusyfangirl
Summary: Sam and Dean follow an energy pulse to see what's causing it.  At the epicenter, they find a familiar face.





	Pulse

**Author's Note:**

> This fills the Antichrist square on my Heaven & Hell Bingo card, the Cabin in the Woods square on my SPN Genre Bingo card, and the Locked Up and Left Behind square on my Bad Things Happen Bingo card.

Baby’s radio faltered for a moment before shorting out. Sam kept his eyes straight ahead on the dirt road in front of them while Dean hit the tape deck a few times, muttering to himself.

“Damn…car…” One firm hit. “Come on, girl!”

“Dean, just stop,” Sam ordered, grabbing his brother’s attention and pointing forward. Dean looked up just in time for the car’s engine to clunk, sputtering a few times before it went out and the car rolled to a stop.

Dean didn’t bother saying anything to the car about that – he was too distracted. It was twilight and they were in the middle of nowhere woods of Colorado. It wasn’t an animal or strange weather phenomenon that had caught Sam’s attention, though.

There were visible waves of – what, energy? – pulsing through the air around them, coming from some point ahead.

This was most likely the thing that they’d come to investigate, but they hadn’t known anything about it until just now. Something was out there in the woods, and whatever it was was strong and setting off some crazy kind of beacon.

Dean tried the engine a few times before calling it, nodding toward Sam to get out. They’d just have to walk the rest of the way.

As soon as the car doors were open, they could hear a clear hum in the air. Now that they were standing out in the open, they felt a strange tingle with each wave of the pulse that hit them, but Dean couldn’t decide if it was pulling him toward whatever was setting off the pulse or pushing him away. Whatever was out there, they were in for something interesting.

They quickly gathered materials from the trunk, storing guns, knives, and holy water in their pockets, not sure what tools they’d need for the upcoming fight. They weren’t even sure if there would be a fight, but they wanted to be as prepared as possible. Silently, they trudged forward, walking into the surge.

About ten minutes into their walk, they rounded a bend in the road. Dean stopped in surprise, seeing a familiar figure.   
“Cas?” he asked. Sure enough, Castiel stood from the large rock he’d been leaning on. His hand went to his head, as though he had a headache, while he walked toward them. “What’s going on, man? We haven’t heard from you in days!”

Castiel took a deep breath. “I’ve been attempting to approach the epicenter of this pulse, but there’s something holding me back. This is as close as I have been able to get, without my physical nature being torn apart.”

Dean instinctively clapped his hand on Castiel’s shoulder, trading places with him on the road, as if his body would be able to block the pulses from affecting Castiel.

“Do you know what it is?” Sam asked, eyes concerned as he took in Castiel’s appearance.

Castiel shook his head. “Something powerful, that’s for sure. And I believe it’s in distress – I think the pulsing is a signal for someone to come help.”

Dean and Sam looked at each other, unsure. “Well,” Dean said, making up his mind in the moment, “you need to get out of here. We don’t know what this thing is doing to you, but we don’t want you hurt. Get back to the car, it seemed to block us somewhat from the noise and energy when we were inside of it. Keep your phone on.”

Castiel looked worried, but nodded. He must have been exhausted to just agree to being dismissed like that.

Sam and Dean watched Castiel walk away until the woods blocked their view. They shared a look once more before walking on, even more wary of what they’d be meeting at the end of their path if it was affecting Castiel that way.

In just over half an hour, with the energy pulses growing stronger by the step, they found a cabin. The pulses were radiating outward from it in every direction, even up toward the sky. The hair on the back of Dean’s neck was standing straight up, every instinct in his bones aware of the potential danger they were walking into.

Dean drew his gun, Sam following his lead. They silently cased the outside of the cabin, seeing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary from the outside. They communicated silently, deciding to both enter from the front door, not wanting to separate.

Since all was quiet, Sam picked the lock silently and they pushed the door open slowly. There were no lights on in the front room and it looked much like any normal hunting cabin would – couch and armchair, table with four chairs, small kitchen. A door to a hall led further into the cabin and the boys approached. A light was on in a back room, so they silently moved toward it, clearing the other open doorways as they passed – a bathroom, a spare bedroom.

A beeping sound grew louder over the humming of the pulses. With a shared look, Dean counted down until he pushed the door open.

A hospital bed was centered in the room, monitors on one side and other medical implements on a table. Other than a prone body on the bed, the room was empty. Sam checked the closet, just to be sure, but both men stowed their guns when they affirmed that they were alone with the figure.

Dean went up to the bed, looking at the young man laying there. The energy was coming directly from him, pulsing outward from his chest. As Dean checked him out, his brow furrowed.

The man looked awfully familiar.

Sam was busy with the monitors and reading the medicine labels on the table. “Sam,” Dean whispered, his voice seemingly loud in the room. Sam looked at him. “Doesn’t he look familiar?”

Sam looked down at the man, then, and Dean saw the second Sam recognized him. His memory was much better than Dean’s when it came to faces. “Who is it?”

Sam took a step back, looking at the label of the bottle in his hand. “Jesse. Remember, the Antichrist kid?” Dean looked back at the man and immediately saw it. Sure, he was ten or so years older, but it was the same kid.

Without hesitation, Sam flipped the lever of Jesse’s IV to stop the medicine from going into his arm. Dean wasn’t sure if that was the best idea, but within moments the pulsing stopped radiating from Jesse’s chest and his eyelids fluttered open.

Dean recognized the unsure look on Jesse’s face, having woken up in strange places before. A flash of anger passed as he took in his surroundings. “Where am I? What’s happening?”

“Jesse,” Sam said, his voice calm. “You were…calling out for help. We came to find you. Do you remember us? Sam and Dean?”

Jesse looked from Sam to Dean, then down at the IV sticking out of his arm and the medical equipment around them. “I was…calling out for help?”

Dean shrugged, still uneasy. “It was kinda like an energy-based bat signal. You don’t know how you got here?”

Jesse sat up carefully. His brow furrowed.

A sudden clarity came to him. “They left me here,” he said, the statement hanging heavy as Sam and Dean met eyes.

Who was _they_?


End file.
